Evidence in fatal South Shore fire ordered preserved

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire on the seventh and eighth floors of a high-rise apartment building in the 6700 block of South Shore Drive in Chicago.

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire on the seventh and eighth floors of a high-rise apartment building in the 6700 block of South Shore Drive in Chicago. (John J. Kim, Chicago Tribune)

Ellen Jean HirstTribune reporter

A Cook County judge ordered a condominium association, property management company and the city of Chicago to hold on to potential evidence in what could turn out to be a lawsuit after two men died last week in a fire at a South Shore condominium.

The bill of discovery was granted Monday morning on behalf of Patricia Fasula, the wife of the late John Fasula Jr., 50, who died after helping rescue an 81-year-old woman from the blaze.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of John who was a tremendous father and husband, and died heroically, saving a fellow human being’s life, which was just like him,” the Fasula family said in a statement Monday. “We are searching for the truth and are grateful to our legal system that is allowing our attorneys to determine the circumstances that caused John’s death.”

Jameel Johnson, 36, helped Fasula rescue the 81-year-old woman before both men suffered full cardiac arrest and died.

Sometime this week, Michael Demetrio, the family’s lawyer, and two of his investigators – an electrical engineer and a fire cause and origin expert – plan to enter the building to determine the probable cause of the fire as well as any other factors that could have contributed to the fire.

Only then will the lawyers have enough evidence to know what direction to take, Demetrio said.

“It could be anything from a faulty product like a lamp to someone smoking in bed,” Demetrio said. “…Electrical wiring is always suspect in cases like this.”

Demetrio said he’ll also look at where the fire extinguishers were placed.

“All these factual issues could have a bearing on who may be legally responsible,” Demetrio said.

The building did not have fire sprinkler or internal communication systems at the time of the fire on Jan. 22. A 2004 ordinance required that buildings built before 1975 like the one on South Shore file a detailed report on how to modernize older high-rises’ safety systems by Jan. 1, 2012. The City Council later extended that deadline to Jan. 1, 2015. Even though First Properties LLC, which manages the building, filed a report in May 2010, as of last summer no one had made the updates.

The Lakefront Condominium Association, First Properties LLC and the city must preserve 911 tapes and all other documents relating to the inspection and maintenance of the South Shore high-rise.

Although the fire department will conduct its own investigation, Demetrio said it’s important for him to conduct his own. That’s why the bill of discovery is so important, Demetrio said.

“It gives us the ability to actually know and not speculate,” Demetrio said.